Tsonevo Reservoir () is a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

in eastern

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, located in the valley of the river

Luda Kamchiya Luda Kamchiya ( , ) is river in eastern Bulgaria, the main tributary of the river Kamchiya. Reaching 201 km, it is longer than the main stem of the Kamchiya, the Golyama Kamchiya (199 km), and is the tenth longest river in the country. ...

. Administratively, it lies in

Dalgopol Municipality Dalgopol Municipality () is a Municipalities of Bulgaria, municipality (''obshtina'') in Varna Province, Northeastern Bulgaria. It is named after its administrative centre - the town of Dalgopol. The municipality embraces a territory of with a p ...

Varna Province Varna Province (), formerly known as Varna okrug, is a province in eastern Bulgaria, one of the 28 Bulgarian provinces. It comprises 12 municipalities with a population of 494,216 as of April 2016.Georgi Traykov Georgi Traykov Girovski, also known as Georgi Traykov (, 14 April 1898 – 14 January 1975), was a Bulgarian politician and the longtime leader of Bulgarian Agrarian National Union. Traykov became leader of the Agrarian Union in December 1947, a ...

, a longtime leader of

Bulgarian Agrarian National Union The Bulgarian Agrarian National Union Bulgarian Agrarian National U ...

and that name remains in official use, along with Tsonevo.

Geography

The reservoir is situated at an altitude of 185 m the eastern

Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs f ...

on the boundary with the fore-Balkan hilly area. It lies along the lower course of the river Luda Kamchiya, the longest tributary of the

Kamchiya The Kamchiya (also Kamchia and Kamčija, ) is a river in eastern Bulgaria. From its longest source, Golyama Kamchiya (Big Kamchiya), it has a total length of (. The river Kamchiya proper starts from the confluence of the two rivers springing ...

. The dam wall is a kilometer west of the village of

Tsonevo Tsonevo (Цонево) is a village located in the Luda Kamchiya Valley in Dalgopol Municipality, Varna Province, Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern por ...

. It is accessible via several roads, as well as railway line No. 3

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

–

Karlovo Karlovo ( ) is a historically important town in central Bulgaria located in a fertile valley along the river Stryama at the southern foot of the Balkan Mountains. It is administratively part of Plovdiv Province and has a population of about 1 ...

–

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

. Along its shores at the reservoir's tail is located the peculiar rock formation Chudnite Skali, which are a natural landmark. The picturesque surroundings and forests are a popular tourist attraction, offering conditions for recreation, fishing and outdoors activities. Accommodation facilities are mainly concentrated in the adjacent villages of Tsonevo and Asparuhovo.

Description

The reservoir was inaugurated in 1974 and has an earthen dam with a height of 39 m and crest length of 890 m. The artificial lake has a surface area of 17.3 km² and a volume of 330 million m³; its length is 28 km. It serves as a leveler of the Kamchiya Reservoir further upstream. It is utilized for small-scale electricity production and as a major supplier for irrigation and industrial water, including for the major Varna-Devnya Industrial Complex. Although its waters are generally intended for industrial and agricultural supply, Tsonevo Reservoir is designated as an emergency source of potable water for Varna, the third largest city in Bulgaria.

Gallery

File:Asparuchovo.jpg , The reservoir at Asparuhovo File:9 Chudnite skali 100916.jpg , A road bridge at the reservoir's tail File:Bulgarian Wonder Rocks.jpg , Panoramic view at Chudnite Skali

Citations

References

* * * {{cite book , ref={{harvid, Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria, 1980 , title = Географски речник на България , trans-title = Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria , last1 = Мичев (Michev) , first1 = Николай (Nikolay) , last2 = Михайлов (Mihaylov) , first2 = Цветко (Tsvetko) , last3 = Вапцаров (Vaptsarov) , first3 = Иван (Ivan) , last4 = Кираджиев (Kiradzhiev) , first4 = Светлин (Svetlin) , chapter = , year = 1980 , language = Bulgarian , publisher = Наука и култура (Nauka i kultura) , location = София (Sofia) , isbn = Reservoirs in Bulgaria Landforms of Varna Province